Nathaniel Ely (also Nathaniel Eli) (1605 – December 25, 1675) was a founding

settler A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established a permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. A settler who migrates to an area previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited may be described as a pioneer. Settl ...

Hartford Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since t ...

and Norwalk,

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

. He served as a deputy of the General Court of the Connecticut Colony from Norwalk in the October 1656 session. He was born in 1605 in

Tenterden Tenterden is a town in the borough of Ashford in Kent, England. It stands on the edge of the remnant forest the Weald, overlooking the valley of the River Rother. It was a member of the Cinque Ports Confederation. Its riverside today is not ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. He was the son of the Reverend Nathaniel Ely and Susan Dowle. He came to America, sailing from

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line ...

aboard the ''Elizabeth'', in 1634. He originally settled in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

, Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Settlement of Hartford

In June 1636, Reverend

Thomas Hooker Thomas Hooker (July 5, 1586 – July 7, 1647) was a prominent English colonial leader and Congregational minister, who founded the Connecticut Colony after dissenting with Puritan leaders in Massachusetts. He was known as an outstanding spea ...

led a group of about one hundred people including Ely to Hartford. He served there as a constable in 1639, and as a selectman in 1643 and 1649.

Settlement of Norwalk

Roger Ludlow Roger Ludlow (1590–1664) was an English lawyer, magistrate, military officer, and colonist. He was active in the founding of the Colony of Connecticut, and helped draft laws for it and the nearby Massachusetts Bay Colony. Under his and John Ma ...

purchased the land that would become Norwalk in 1640. Ludlow contracted with fourteen men for the original planting of Norwalk. In 1649, Ely and Richard Olmsted became the first two settlers.Norwalk v.1
/ref> He served in the General Court of the Colony of Connecticut representing Norwalk in 1656. He lived in Norwalk until 1659. He then moved to Springfield, Massachusetts Bay Colony. He served as a selectman there in 1661, 1663, 1666, 1668, 1671 and 1673. After 1665, he was a tavern keeper. He is listed on the Founders Stone bearing the names of the founders of Hartford in the Ancient Burying Ground in Hartford, and he is also listed on the Founders Stone bearing the names of the founding settlers of Norwalk in the East Norwalk Historical Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ely, Nathaniel 1605 births 1675 deaths American Puritans Connecticut city council members Deputies of the Connecticut General Court (1639–1662) Founding settlers of Norwalk, Connecticut Massachusetts city council members Founders of Hartford, Connecticut Politicians from Springfield, Massachusetts People from Tenterden Saloonkeepers Businesspeople from Springfield, Massachusetts